New England Republic
The New England Republic (commonly referred to as New England or NER) is a unitary parliamentary republic located in eastern North America. The New England Republic was officially established with the Parliament Act after the Second American Civil War, although it did exist beforehand when elements of the US government established their own federal government out of Philadelphia. On 29 March 2007 after the war, the Philadelphia Congress passed a bill officially dissolving the United States, and declared the Constitution void. Over the following weeks, the now-sovereign states gathered and established the New England Republic. Washington D.C., was declared an autonomous city-state under the Washington Act and the capital was established in Philadelphia. The Republic consists of twelve provinces and one autonomous territory. No codified constitution exists and the parliament is officially sovereign, making it the most powerful body in the three-branch government. The Parliament consists of two houses, the lower House of Delegates and the upper House of Senate. Delegates are elected and Senators are appointed for life terms, comparable to the former US Supreme Court. The executive branch of government consists of the ceremonial President and the head of government Prime Minister who he appoints with advice from the House of Delegates. The judicial branch is led by a Chief Judge and consists of District Courts and the Supreme Court History Civil War (2005-2007) Reconstruction (2007-2010) Recent era (2010-present) On 22 May 2013, after a week's deliberations, the New Englander Parliament agreed to the referendums in Western New York, Western Pennsylvania and Western Maryland for the Appalachian states to be reintegrated into their former borders; thus within New England. The issue was met with some opposition, as each new country added to the Republic would require an extra seat opened in the House of Delegates, however, it was deemed that the newly gained territory would economically benefit the country as a whole. Government and politics As mentioned above, the new government of New England holds little resemblance to that of the former United States. The style of government follows that of a former British realm, however it is in some cases completely unique. It is of note that no constitution exists within the Republic. Every parliament can essentially pass any law or policy they wish, with the rare exception of limiting the powers of their successors. A parliament may also not increase or decrease their own term limits, which is set at 2 years for delegates, and life for senators by the Parliament Act (which is in some cases the de facto constitution). Parliament The bicameral Parliament of the New England Republic is officially sovereign, meaning that the Parliament has jurisdiction over all government institutions, including the executive (i.e. the President and Prime Minister) and the judiciary (i.e. the courts). The powers of the legislature are thus extremely broad, however the well-being of the people are protected by the Parliament Act, which is considered the national constitution, which states that the House of Delegates is the strongest house, and no delegate can be reelected three times in a row (however may return after a one-term break). The two houses are: *The upper House of Senate, which mostly acts as a balance of powers with the House of Delegates, and is mainly involved with government oversight. *The lower House of Delegates, which is a balance of powers with the weaker House of Senate, and is involved in all matters of state. Senators are chosen by a president with advice from the current House of Delegates. They serve for life or until they are unable to continue duty. The House of Delegates is able to impeach senators if they are guilty of treason or other matters of misconduct. Delegates are elected directly by the people of the province they represent, equally among all provinces, and may be reelected twice. After their third term, they must either retire or take a one-term break. File:New England Republic Parliament Building.png|The Parliament Building in Philadelphia. It is the site of the former Museum of Art. Executive The executive branch of government is responsible for enforcing all policies and laws passed through the legislature. The President is the head of state and chief diplomat of the Republic. He is elected to an eight-year term and must appoint a Prime Minister every 4 years with the advice of the House of Delegates. The President has a largely ceremonial role. The Prime Minister, appointed by the President, is the head of government and with advice from the President appoints his cabinet. Ministers then in turn are free to appoint anyone within their respective ministries. Any member, regardless of level or rank, can be impeached by the legislature. File:September Executive Office Building (Perelman Building).png|The September Executive Office Building (SEOB), formerly the Perelman Building, where the offices of both the President, Prime Minister, and smaller cabinet ministries are located. File:Fairmount House (Lemon Hill).png|Fairmount House, formerly Lemon Hill, the President's residence. File:Pleasant House (Mount Pleasant).png|Pleasant House, formerly Mount Pleasant, the Prime Minister's residence. Judiciary Effectively the weakest branch of government, the judiciary consists of regional district courts (each having a criminal, civil and appeals division) and one national Supreme Court. The Chief Judge effectively leads the entire court system and sits on the panel of the Supreme Court. District court judges are appointed by provincial governors and confirmed by the provincial legislatures while all Supreme Court judges are appointed by the President and Prime Minister, while the House of Delegates confirms them. File:Franklin Palace of Justice.png|Franklin Palace of Justice, formerly the Franklin Institute, from where the Supreme Court is based. Administrative divisions The Republic consists of twelve provinces and one autonomous territory: *Connecticut, Province of (CT) *Delaware, Province of (DE) *Maine, Province of (ME) *Maryland, Province of (MD) *Massachusetts, Province of (MA) *New Hampshire, Province of (NH) *New Jersey, Province of (NJ) *New York, Province of (NY) *Pennsylvania, Province of (PA) *Rhode Island, Province of (RI) *Vermont, Province of (VT) *Virginia, Province of (VA) *Washington, District of Foreign relations and military Foreign policy and relations New England has had very good relationships with most of the world since its establishment. New England Defense Force Main article: New England Defense Force With the establishment of the New England Republic, it became all too clear that the former "blue" northeast would be somewhat pacifist. The New England Defense Force exists only to defend the people and property of the New England Republic, and has a budget limited only to that. Little defense research is done and few large contracts are signed for the Defense Force. With that being said, the NEDF remains a regional force to be reckoned with. As military-political analyst Dr. James Caeven described it in his book Modern Armed Forces after the Great Fall: "The New England Defense Force will never be able to successfully invade and hold territory of another nation, however, it is more than able to defend the Republic." The NEDF consists of the Army, Air Force and Coast Guard, of which the Army is the largest. No regional 'national guards' exist with the defederalization of government as a whole, thus regular forces are called to assist law enforcement and aid workers in the event of a natural disaster or other high danger situations. The President is the commander-in-chief of the Defense Force in times of war. Culture New Englander culture has remained true to many American cultural aspects, such a sport, language, music and arts. One noticeable difference between normal American culture and New Englander culture is the issue of constitutional supremacy. Before 2001, and still found throughout North America and the world today, Americans heralded the Constitution as perhaps the single most important thing in their lives. After September 11th, 2001, a series of events up to the end of the Second Civil War made it all too clear to many Americans that the Constitution they revered so much had utterly failed in protecting both the nation and them. This series of events saw the majority of people living in New England and many across the former United States call for legislative superiority. The Philadelphia Congress honored these wishes in 2007 when the system of parliamentary sovereignty was established. Religion As with the rest of North America, mainline Christianity remains the dominant religion within New England, however, due to its liberal attitude, the nation has seen a large influx in the number of nontheists. Almost one in every four New Englanders claim to be either Atheist or Agnostic. Freedom of religion is granted through means of common law, meaning it is not codified, however, implied and respected. Since it is not codified, however, "lesser" religions to which less than 0.50% of the country's population is subscribed, are commonly not recognized, and thus not respected in a legal setting. Sports Race relations Drugs and alcohol Gun culture Demographics Largest cities See also *Outline of the New England Republic * category:Future World category:New England (FW) Category:Countries Category:Nations Category:Worlds Category:Regions Category:Countries on Earth Category:Country